Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Mat South Bureau Chief
Communities living along the Mtshabezi Dam pipeline in Umzingwane District should benefit from it through the establishment of irrigation schemes that can sustain crop production to improve food security in Matabeleland South Province.
The pipeline has seven off take points along the way which could allow locals to access water from Mtshabezi Dam. The off take points could be developed into irrigation schemes.
Minister of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said the people of Matabeleland South Province should be the biggest beneficiaries of Mtshabezi Dam.
“We want to see women excelling in their fields of production and one of these areas is farming. Our farmers should be able to harness water from Mtshabezi Dam so that they can be productive. Local communities should benefit from the dam so that families have enough to eat and also realise surplus,” said Dr Nyoni.
She said women in farming had the potential to feed the nation with support from Government. Dr Nyoni said her ministry was in the process of setting up empowerment clubs to ensure that women are empowered.
“We don’t want women to be part of clubs that don’t empower them. We’ve realised that apart from being empowered, women need to meet to exchange notes and become better people.
These empowerment clubs should be formed so that our women are moulded into being virtuous women. We’re calling them empowerment clubs because we want women to be empowered economically as well,” said Dr Nyoni.
The minister said Matabeleland South Province had already managed to set up 250 empowerment clubs with 1 080 members.
“Women need our support as they carry the burden of bringing up families and supporting communities. I call upon women to unite, work hard and contribute towards the development of our country. Let’s do it together in an organised manner,” she said.
Umzingwane District has recurrently been ravaged by food shortages due to poor rains and irrigation schemes have proven useful in addressing the challenge.
Smallholder farmers in the province have continuously faced extreme weather variability, periodically affecting livelihoods and increasing poverty.
Analysts say if fully exploited, the Mtshabezi pipeline, could turn out to be much more than just the drinking water conveyer it is to Bulawayo residents, but a panacea to food shortage woes in Matabeleland South province.
Construction of the Mtshabezi pipeline started in June 2007 at an estimated cost of Z$473 billion. The project was however, suspended in August 2008 owing to financial constraints.
By the time of the suspension, the contractor, Nanchang from China, was already on site and 1,4km of the pipeline had been excavated. The project resumed in 2009 upon the introduction of the multicurrency system and it was revalued at about US$23 million.
A 62km power line from Gwanda to Mtshabezi, and a substation were also constructed to provide power for the pumping to Mzingwane Dam. The pipeline has four sections, namely the 7,5km gravity pumping main from the Mtshabezi dam wall to the Mtshabezi pump station, a 7km pumping main from the pump station to a 1 000 cubic metre tank situated on a hill and then a 10, 5 km gravity main from the tank to another 1000 cubic metre tank.
The last section consists of a 17km gravity main from the second tank to Mzingwane dam. Part of the project also includes a 2 280 cubic metre sump at the pump station at Mtshabezi dam and a 250 cubic metre brick tank at Mzingwane Dam.
It also has a pump housing three pump sets with each capable of delivering 720 cubic metre of raw water per hour. – @Yolisswa
Online Reporter